Game apparatus and method of playing game with a minimum prize

ABSTRACT

A game apparatus and method of playing a game that provides a minimum prize. The game apparatus comprises a game piece, a minimum prize value, an additional prize value and a means to determine the prize. As is described herein, the game is based on common games such as matching items such as characters, numbers, letters, objects or words; playing games such as cards, dice, dominos or crossword puzzles; and instant prizes or any other method of providing a prize. Embodiments of the game apparatus and methods include printed game pieces and printed prize determining means as well as processor based embodiments and combinations of printed and processor based embodiments.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Appl. No. 60/939,594 filedon May 22, 2007 and entitled “GAME WITH MINIMUM PRIZE AND A METHOD TOPROVIDE MINIMUM PRIZE VALUE”, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a game apparatus and methodof playing the game, and more particularly, to a game having game piecesthat have a minimum winning value and methods for playing the game.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many establishments such as retailers and restaurants use coupons andgames of various sorts to promote the sale of their goods and services.For example, coupons offering “DOLLARS OFF” or “PERCENT DISCOUNT” aredelivered in the mail or made available at the establishment. Thecoupons, or game pieces, characteristically include cash prizes,merchandise, food or other items sold by the store or the productmanufacturer to introduce new products or provide some other promotionalpurpose. Some establishments give “scratch-off” coupons and game piecesas promotional items. Typically, these game pieces represent a game ofchance and have varying values to the recipient based on the rules ofthe promotion.

Whether the coupon value is known or hidden on the game piece, they aretypically stand alone promotional items. These coupons are notassociated with a minimum value such as is obtained when you purchase agift certificate.

Companies and restaurants also use gift certificates and gift cards topromote the sale of their goods and services. Typically, these giftcertificates are sold as an individual item for a pre-determined value.Many times, because the value is known, these gift certificates aregiven by one person to another as a gift.

All of these promotional items and methods are beneficial; however,retailers and restaurants are missing an opportunity to use giftcertificates and coupons or game pieces together.

Game pieces also exist when government and private entities conductlotteries. Government conducted lotteries offer players the chance towin a large prize and have the added benefit of increasing governmentalrevenues.

In a lottery game, the lottery ticket typically has a winning amountthat is not known to the purchaser when they buy the ticket. It'spossible that the lottery ticket can be a big winner or the ticket canhave no residual monetary value.

Frequently, lottery tickets are given as gifts. A common scenario iswhen someone needs to give a gift to someone that is difficult to shopfor or for a last minute gift. Giving cash is not always appropriate andgetting a gift certificate is logistically difficult. Giving a lotteryticket, with the possibility of it being a big winner, is usually viewedmore favorably than an outright gift of cash.

An opportunity is missed to enhance the attraction of giving lotterytickets by defining a minimum value that the recipient will win. With aminimum winning value, the gift will at least pay the minimum value.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of one embodiment of the invention is to provide a gameapparatus comprising a game piece having at least one game indicia, acombined prize comprising a minimum prize and an additional prize and ameans to determine the combined prize from the game indicia.

It is another object of one embodiment of the invention to provide agame apparatus wherein the means to determine the combined prizecomprises printing the game indicia on the game piece, the game indiciaidentifying the combined prize and the game indicia being hidden by aremovable material whereby removing the material reveals the gameindicia and the combined prize.

It is a further object of one embodiment of the invention to provide agame apparatus having a separable portion of the game piece identifyingthe minimum prize.

It is another object of one embodiment of the invention to provide agame apparatus wherein the means to determine the combined prize furthercomprises the game indicia comprising a first set of at least one gameindicia and a second set of at least one game indicia, the first set ofgame indicia being associated with the combined prize, the second set ofgame indicia being associated with the first set of game indicia and thefirst and second set of game indicia being hidden by the removablematerial whereby removal of the removable material exposes the first andsecond set of game indicia and a comparison of the second set of gameindicia to the first set of game indicia reveals the combined prize.

It is an object of one embodiment of the invention to provide a gameapparatus wherein the means to determine a prize comprises a processorcapable of receiving signals representing the game indicia, theprocessor capable of communicating with a memory having logic todetermine the prize value, and the processor capable of identifying thecombined prize to the user.

It is another object of one embodiment of the invention to provide agame apparatus wherein the memory is capable of communicating with theprocessor over a data network and/or the game piece is a computer basedclient.

An object of one embodiment of the invention is to provide a method forplaying a game comprising the steps of defining a combined prizecomprising a minimum prize and an additional prize, providing a gamepiece comprising at least one game indicia and determining the combinedprize from the game indicia.

It is another object of one embodiment of the invention to provide amethod for playing a game further comprising the game indicia beingprinted on the game piece, the game indicia identifying the combinedprize, the game indicia being hidden by a removable material and thestep of determining the combined prize further comprising removing theremovable material to reveal the game indicia and the combined prize.

It is a further object of one embodiment of the invention to provide amethod of playing a game wherein the game piece further comprises aseparable portion of the game piece identifying the minimum prize.

It is another object of one embodiment of the invention to provide amethod of playing a game further comprising, the game indicia comprisinga first set of at least one game indicia and a second set of at leastone game indicia, the first set of game indicia being associated withthe combined prize, the second set of game indicia being associated withthe first set of game indicia, the first and second set of game indiciabeing hidden by the removable material and the step of determining thecombined prize further comprises removing the removable material toexpose the first and second set of game indicia whereby a comparison ofthe second set of game indicia to the first set of game indicia revealsthe combined prize.

It is an object of one embodiment of the invention to provide a methodof playing a game wherein the step of determining the combined prizefurther comprises a processor configured to receive signals representingthe game indicia, the processor configured to communicate with a memoryhaving logic to determine the prize value; and the processor configuredto identify the combined prize to the user.

It is another object of one embodiment of the invention to provide amethod of playing a game wherein the memory communicates with theprocessor over a data network and/or the game piece is a computer basedclient.

It is an object of one embodiment of the invention to provide a gameapparatus and method of playing the game wherein the game is an elementof another game selected from the group consisting of a lottery game, aretail store promotional game, a web site promotional game and aweb-based store promotional game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows one game piece embodiment with hidden game indicia and aremovable minimum prize value indicator.

FIG. 2 shows one game piece embodiment with the minimum prize valueindicator removed and some game indicia exposed from under a scratch-offcoating.

FIG. 3 shows one game piece embodiment with a pull-tab means to hide thegame indicia.

FIG. 4 shows a game piece embodiment utilizing a gift card.

FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of an electronic device being used with agame piece.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart outlining the steps of one embodiment of themethod of providing a minimum prize value with a game piece.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While this invention is capable of being implemented in many differentembodiments, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein bedescribed in detail, several specific embodiments, with theunderstanding that the present disclosure can be considered as anexemplification of the principals of the invention and is not intendedto limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

The detailed illustrations below are reflective of, but should not belimited to the scenario of an issuer creating a game and game piece fora purchaser to buy the game piece for another recipient. A typicalexample of this scenario would be the purchaser buying the game piece asa gift for the recipient knowing that the game piece would award aknown, predetermined minimum prize value.

Although embodiments described include a physical game piece,contemplated embodiments also include game pieces that are, but are notlimited to representations of game indicia such as can be provided by anelectronic display or an audio signal.

The Game Apparatus:

The game apparatus comprises a game piece, a minimum prize value, anadditional prize value and a means to determine a prize. As is describedherein, the game is based on common games to include, but not to belimited to, games such as matching items such as characters, numbers,letters, objects or words; playing games such as cards, dice, dominos orcrossword puzzles; and instant prizes or any other method indicating aprize has been won.

The term “additional prize” as used throughout this description isintended to define a prize value above the minimum. It is understoodthat this prize value encompasses an additional value of nothing or “0”as well as additional value of greater amounts.

The game is implemented through the use of the game piece and the prizedetermining means as described below.

The Game Piece:

In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the game piece 100comprises a game piece body 101 with one or more game indicia 102, ameans for hiding the game indicia 102, a minimum prize value, a minimumprize indicator 104 and a means to determine a prize.

In this embodiment, the game piece body 101 is a paper-like sheet thatwill accept a marking medium such as printing. Other embodiments of thegame piece body 101 can include, but should not be limited to electronicgift cards, balls, cubes, novelty items, hats, clothes, cloth or anyother tangible item capable of receiving and retaining a marking medium.

The game indicia 102 shown in FIG. 2 are game symbols that aretranslatable, by the prize determining means, into a prize. In thisembodiment, the game indicia 102 are characters printed directly ontothe game piece body and are pre-determined to be translated into aprize. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, there is a firstgame indicia portion 106 reflecting winning game indicia. There isanother second game indicia portion 107, with game indicia to becompared to the winning game indicia. In this embodiment, the gameindicia on the second game indicia portion 107 also include a prizeannotated under each. A match of one or more characters between thefirst game indicia portion 106 and second game indicia portion 107results in the prize annotated. FIG. 2 shows the wining game indicia102A that matches game indicia 102B and results in the prize annotated102C. The game indicia 102 can be based on games of skill, games ofchance or other common games such as games that are used with lotterytickets. These common games include, but not to be limited to, gamessuch as matching items such as characters, numbers, letters, objects orwords; playing games such as cards, dice, dominos or crossword puzzles;and instant prizes or any other method indicating a prize has been won.Other embodiments of the game indicia can include, but are not limitedto playing cards, letters, symbols, colors, sounds, visual images, itemsor other indicia that can be used to determine a prize.

Other embodiments of the game piece body 101 and game indicia 102 aresuch as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,513, John Donovan, filedDec. 27, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,174, Nan C. Miller et al., filed Feb.21, 1974, each of which are herein incorporated by reference.

In this embodiment, the game indicia 102 are hidden by the issuer, orotherwise made unknown to the purchaser and recipient prior to playingthe game. In this embodiment, the means to hide the game indicia includea scratch-off coating 103 applied over the game indicia 102. FIG. 2shows one embodiment of the game piece 100 with the scratch-off coating103 removed exposing some of the game indicia 102. Another means to hidethe game indicia 102 include pull-tabs 303 on the game piece 300 asshown in FIG. 3 and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,488 Michael W.Kutscher, filed Apr. 26, 1941, which is herein incorporated byreference. Other means of hiding the game indicia 102 include, but arenot limited to, breaking a seal that exposes ears which may then beremoved as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,230 Richard J. Curzon etal., filed Feb. 1, 1968, which is herein incorporated by reference;adhesively joined and removable layers of substrate as described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,174,857, John R. Koza, filed Dec. 28, 1977, which is hereinincorporated by reference; and a removable portion of the game piecebody as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,242, Raymond Mills Arnold etal., filed May 24, 1973 which is herein incorporated by reference.

Additional means to hide the game indicia include having indicia on thegame piece that are translatable to game indicia through a medium notdirectly on the game piece. Examples of the translation of indicia caninclude, but are not limited to, translations using a separately printedtable such as in a newspaper, a translation performed by a computerprocessor, a translation such as in numbers balls as in a Bingo game, ora translation performed by a mathematical algorithm or any other methodof matching one type of indicia to one or more game indicia.

Prize Values:

The minimum prize value is a pre-determined minimum value of the prizethat will be awarded with this game piece. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the minimum prize value is $20. This minimum prizevalue is pre-determined or otherwise determined to ensure that the gamepiece 100 will award a certain prize and the purchaser of the game piece100 is made aware of the value of that prize.

The minimum prize is used to determine the game indicia that areprovided on that game piece such that the prize determining means willresult in at least a minimum prize value.

The minimum prize and an additional prize are contemplated to be usedcreating a combined prize for the game piece.

As shown in FIG. 1, the minimum prize indicator 104 is an indicatordefining the minimum prize value for this game piece 100. In oneembodiment the minimum prize indicator 104 is a printed indicatorportion on the game piece body 101 that states the minimum prize thatwill be awarded to recipients of that game piece 100. In thisembodiment, the minimum prize indicator 104 is helpful for purchasers ofthe game piece 100 when it is used as a gift to ensure that a minimumgift will be received.

In one embodiment, the minimum prize indicator 104 is marked on aminimum prize indicator portion 105 that is separable from the portionof the game piece body 101 with the game indicia 102. In one embodiment,this separation is provided by perforations in the game piece body toallow the minimum prize indicator portion 105 to be easily removed fromthe rest of the game piece body 101. FIG. 2 shows the game piece 100with the minimum prize indicator portion 105 removed. Other embodimentsof minimum prize indicators and methods to separate the minimum prizeindication include, but are not limited to, a peel-off tab, a rub-offcoating, a removable layer of plastic or other method of removing alabel from the game piece body portion that included the game indicia.

As shown in FIG. 4, it is also possible to have a game piece 400 held ina minimum prize indicator portion 405 creating a separable holder thatcontains the minimum prize indicator 404.

Prize Determining Means:

The prize determining means interprets or translates the game indiciaand determines the prize that should be given to the holder of the gamepiece. The game indicia are associated with the prizes so that knowingthe game indicia allows a translation of those indicia to determine theprizes.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the prize determiningmeans consist of visually interpreting the game indicia 102 from thefirst and second game indicia portions on the game piece body 101. Theplayer scratches off the coating hiding the game indicia on the firstgame indicia portion 106 exposing one or more game indicia 102A. Theplayer then scratches off the coating on the second game indicia portion107 of the game piece 100. The game indicia 102 on the second gameindicia portion 107 contain game indicia 102A and 102B and a prize value102C. A match between the first and second game indicia will result inthe prize value 102C. Prize determining means can include, but shouldnot be limited to matching items such as numbers, letters, objects orwords; playing games such as cards, dice, dominos or crossword puzzles;indicia of an instant prizes or any other method of indicating a prizehas been won.

The prize value 102C represents a reward to be given, or credited to theholder of the game piece 100. Typical prizes include, but should not belimited to a monetary value, a discount, a material object or otherreward.

Other prize determining means are contemplated and described herein withother embodiments of the game apparatus and game methods.

Other Embodiments of the Game Apparatus:

One embodiment of the game piece includes purchaser selected gameindicia or randomly generated indicia, similar to the numbers use with a“quick pick” lottery ticket. In these embodiments, the minimum prizeindicator is not needed on the game piece but it can be made otherwiseknown to the purchaser as they purchase the game piece. The prizedetermining means can be a comparison to or matching of the game indiciato game indicia separately provided as through a newspaper, a televisionshow, an internet site or other similar information means. The prizevalues can be pre-determined or the value can vary based on game rulessuch as the way “power-ball” prize values change as the game progresses.The prize can be awarded by presenting the game piece to the issuer ofthe game piece.

It is contemplated that the embodiments described above can include thegame piece 100 or game piece body 101 being incorporated into othermediums such as, but not limited to a birthday card, a gift card, acereal box, a ticket or other tangible item.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of the game piece 400 that can include acard game piece body 401, such as a gift card, that includes orgenerates game indicia 402. These game indicia 402 can be printedphysical characters or digital media stored on magnetic material thatcan be translated into other game indicia by inputting them into asystem, such as a computer based system. The system in this embodimenthas a means to determine a prize comprising a processor based system.Embodiments of the processor based system can comprise a client, aprocessor, memory and a means to communicate between the elements. Theclient, such as a web browser, accepts input and this input iscommunicated to a processor, such as a computer processor, that executeslogic residing in memory such as a server memory. The logic compares theinput to memory to determine what prize should be awarded. As anillustrative example of this embodiment, and not for limitation, thismeans to determine a prize could comprise a gift card with a numericcode. The numeric code was created by the issuer and this code isassociated in a centralized memory with a predetermined prize value. Thenumeric code is put into a web browser that is directed to a particularweb site associated with the game piece issuer. The numeric code isprocessed by the processor that uses logic to compare the numeric codeto the predetermined prize values that are stored in the memory. Oncethe comparison is completed, the processor communicates the prizedetermination with the client.

Other embodiments of the game piece can comprise, but should not belimited to, an entirely processor based game piece 500 with processorbased game body 501 and game indicia 502 and processor based prizedetermining means as shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, processorbased prize determining means include, but are not limited to thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,741, Maynard E. Small, filed Apr. 2,1987 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,730, Maynard E. Small, filed Nov. 5, 1984,each of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Inthis embodiment, the game piece is made available to a client 501 suchas, but not limited to a web browser, an email client, a text messagingclient or an audio signal client. The game piece has a code that isassociated with a prize value. The code is processed by the processor503 that uses logic to compare the code to the prize value held inmemory 504. Once the comparison is completed, the processor communicatesthe prize determination with the client.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, it is understood that theclient 501 and the processor 503 and memory 504 may reside on the sameplatform or the elements may be distributed in a data network such as ina client-server network architecture.

It is understood and contemplated that other systems and methods todetermine the prize value can be used with embodiments of thisinvention. For example, the prize values may have an associatedvalidation code that is generated to both the receiver of the game pieceand the issuer of the game piece. Other means to validate the prizedetermination include, but are not limited to printed validation codeson hard copy game pieces and automated prize determining systems such asthose

Use of the Game and Game Piece:

For the purpose of illustrating the use of the game and game piecedisclosed, and not for limitation, a game piece embodiment similar tothat shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 will be described having a minimum prizevalue of $20 and an additional price premium, reflecting the chance towin an additional prize, of $5.

The game is defined by an issuer of the game piece.

The game piece 100 is created by the issuer with game indicia 102printed on the game piece body 101. The game indicia 102 are selectedsuch that the prize determining means will determine a prize of no lessvalue than the minimum prize value of $20. The game indicia 102 arehidden from view with a scratch-off coating 103. A minimum prizeindicator 104 comprises a marking on the game piece body 101 such as a“$20 Guarantee” on a removable, perforated indicator portion 105 of thegame piece 100. Through marking on the game piece 100, the purchaser isaware of the chance the game piece 100 will also have an additionalprize. The pricing premium on the game piece 100 reflects the chance ofbeing awarded an additional prize value beyond the minimum prize value.

A purchaser purchases the game piece 100 desiring a minimum prize valueof $20. As shown in FIG. 1, the game piece 100 has a minimum prizeindicator 104 of $20. The pricing premium of $5 reflects the chance thatthe game piece 100 will award more than the minimum prize value.

The purchaser or another recipient has the ability to remove the minimumprize indicator 104 if desired. Once the minimum prize indicator 104 isremoved, the remaining portion of the game piece 100 has no indicationof the minimum prize value.

The game piece 100 can then be given to the recipient. The recipientremoves the means of hiding the game indicia and exposes the gameindicia 102. As shown in FIG. 2, the recipient scratches off the coating103 over the first game indicia portion 106 of the game piece 100exposing one or more game indicia 102A. The recipient then scratches offthe coating 103 over the second game indicia portion 107 of the gamepiece 100. The game indicia 102B on the second game indicia portioncontain both a number and a prize value 102C.

The prize determining means is then used to determine the prize to beawarded for this game piece 100. In one embodiment, the prizedetermining means comprises the recipient visually matching the gameindicia 102 from the first game indicia portion 106, with game indiciaand prize values from the second game indicia portion 107. With the gameindicia 102 exposed, the recipient can match the game indicia 102according to the game rules and determine the prize value won. Sincethis game piece 100 was purchased with a minimum prize value of $20, theminimum prize awarded is $20. An additional prize is awarded based onthe game indicia 102 and the prize determining means.

With the prize determined, the recipient can then take the game piece100 back to the issuer, or another party, to be credited for the prize.

Other embodiments of the game piece can be used in similar waysdepending on the embodiment of the game and game piece.

With embodiments such as those with the purchaser selecting game indiciaor having randomly generated indicia, as with a “quick pick,” the gamepiece is purchased with a guaranteed minimum winning value known to thepurchaser when they purchase the game piece. The purchaser gives thegame piece to the recipient and the prizes can be determined by adetermining means such as comparing or matching the indicia providedthrough such means as a newspaper, a television show, a computer, anetwork connected server or an internet site.

With embodiments of the game piece comprising a card, such as a giftcard as shown in FIG. 4, the game piece 400 can interact with othersystems to determine the prize. One embodiment comprises a game piece400 that is purchased with a minimum prize indicator 404 on a detachableminimum prize indicator portion 405. The purchaser detaches the minimumprize indicator portion 405 and gives the card to the recipient. Thecard has game indicia 402 such as a series of visible characters or adigital signature on the game piece 400. The game indicia 402 areentered into a processor based system, such as a web site, that candirectly determine the prize or it can initiate a game to determine aprize. Because the game indicia 402 on the card are shared with theprocessor based system, the system knows the minimum prize that shouldbe awarded. The prize determining means can be performed locally withinthat system, or the means can be distributed with the local computerintercommunicating with a remote computer and database. The additionalprize value is awarded based on the rules of the game. An example ofthis embodiment is a gift card similar to the gift cards sold at majorbook stores that is pre-loaded, or loaded at purchase, with visiblecharacters or a digital signature that can be put into a processor basedsystem to determine prizes. In this embodiment, the recipient is madeaware of the game indicia by logging onto an electronic device such as acomputer connected to a digital network such as the Internet. By loggingonto this device, the device associates the game piece with the gameindicia specific to that game piece. The game indicia are made known andtranslated into the associated prize value by the prize determiningmeans. The prize can be credited directly to the user through theelectronic device or the prize can be credited to the recipient throughother means such as printing a coupon or mailing of a prize or prizevalue.

The use of processor based implementations of the game and game piece,such as shown in FIG. 5 and described herein, can also be used. The gamepiece can also consist of an entirely processor based game piece 500with a processor based game body 501, game indicia 502 and prizedetermining means. The user can log onto a web site having a processor503 and memory 504, to purchase a game piece utilizing purchasing meanssuch as a credit card. The game piece can be electronically shared withthe recipient through digital communications means such as email orinstant messaging. The recipient can expose the game indicia, orotherwise make the indicia known, allowing the prize determining meansto define the prize to be awarded.

Other manners of us of the game apparatus and game piece arecontemplated as would fit the game apparatus and game pieces describedearlier in this description.

Method for Playing the Game with a Minimum Prize Value:

For the purpose of illustrating the method of playing the game toprovide a minimum prize value, and not for limitation, a game apparatusand game piece embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 2 will bedescribed having a minimum prize value of $20 and an additional pricepremium, reflecting the chance to win an additional prize, of $5.

As outlined in the flow chart of FIG. 6, the method for playing the gamewith a minimum prize value comprises the following steps.

Starting with step 601, the issuer defines a game comprising gameindicia, a minimum prize value, an additional prize value and a prizedetermining means. The game indicia are associated with the minimumprize value and the additional prize value according to the rules of thegame and are capable of being translated into the minimum prize valueand any appropriate additional prize value. It is understood that theselection of these game elements can be defined in any order or can bedone in combinations of steps to define a game in accordance with thisinvention.

One embodiment of defining a game comprises defining a numbers matchinggame as shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the game indicia 102 aremultiple sets of numbers to be matched. The minimum prize value is apre-determined value and the additional prize value is defined bystatistical methods well known by one in the art.

Other embodiments of a game, game indicia, minimum prize values andadditional prize values are possible as described elsewhere in thisdescription and are well known by those in the art of lotteries andpurveyors of games of chance.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show one embodiment of the prize determining meanscomprising the purchaser being able to expose the game indicia 102 byscratching off the scratch-off coating 103 and visually matching thegame indicia 102 from a first game indicia portion 106, numbers in thisembodiment, with game indicia and prize values from a second gameindicia portion 107. With the game indicia 102 exposed, the purchasercan determine what game indicia match and therefore see which prizes arewon.

Other prize determining means are possible as described in thisdescription.

Step 602 represents providing a game piece according to the gamedefined. One embodiment of providing the game piece comprises printingthe game indicia on the game piece. As shown in FIG. 2, in thisembodiment, the game indicia 102 are the characters printed on the gamepiece body 101.

In this step, the game indicia are hidden from the user on the gamepiece, or their association with the prize values is otherwise madeunknown to the purchaser when they are given the game piece. Oneembodiment of hiding the game indicia from the purchaser comprisescovering the game indicia with a scratch-off coating.

Other embodiments of creating the game piece and hiding the game indiciainclude, but are not limited to the electronic and other printedembodiments described herein.

As shown in step 603, the combined prize is determined from the gameindicia. In this prize determining step 603, the indicia are made knownto the user so that the prize can be determined. For the embodimentshown in FIG. 2, the indicia are made known in this step by scratchingoff the coating to reveal the game indicia.

Other embodiment of prize determining means are described herein.

Step 604 comprises awarding said one or more combined prizes to theholder of the game piece. One embodiment of awarding of the combinedprize comprises the recipient of the game piece going to the issuer ofthe game piece to collect the prize. Other embodiments of awarding theprize comprise other methods of crediting the recipient with valuerepresenting the combined prize.

Other methods of playing the game with a minimum prize are contemplatedas are compatible with the game apparatus and game pieces describedearlier in this description.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, toinclude variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and mannerof operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obviousto one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to thoseillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification areintended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact embodiment and use shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. Althoughthis invention has been described in the above forms with a certaindegree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosurehas been made only by way of example and numerous changes in the detailsof construction and combination and arrangement of parts may be resortedto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A game apparatus comprising: a game piece having at least one gameindicia; a combined prize comprising a minimum prize and an additionalprize; and a means to determine the combined prize from the gameindicia.
 2. The game apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means to determinethe combined prize comprises: the game indicia being printed on the gamepiece; the game indicia identifying the combined prize; and the gameindicia being hidden by a removable material whereby removing theremovable material reveals the game indicia and the combined prize. 3.The game apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a separable portion ofthe game piece identifying the minimum prize.
 4. The game apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein the means to determine the combined prize furthercomprises: the game indicia comprising a first set of at least one gameindicia and a second set of at least one game indicia; the first set ofgame indicia being associated with the combined prize; the second set ofgame indicia being associated with the first set of game indicia; andthe first and second set of game indicia being hidden by the removablematerial whereby removal of the removable material exposes the first andsecond set of game indicia and a comparison of the second set of gameindicia to the first set of game indicia reveals the combined prize. 5.The game apparatus of claim 2 wherein the game is an element of anothergame selected from the group consisting of: a lottery game; a retailstore promotional game; a web site promotional game; and a web-basedstore promotional game.
 6. The game apparatus of claim 1 wherein themeans to determine the combined prize comprises: a processor configuredto receive signals representing the game indicia; the processorconfigured to communicate with a memory having logic to determine thecombined prize value from the game indicia; and the processor configuredto identify the combined prize to the user.
 7. The game apparatus ofclaim 6 wherein the memory having logic to determine the prize valuecommunicates with the processor over a data network.
 8. The gameapparatus of claim 6 wherein the game piece is a computer based client.9. The game apparatus of claim 6 wherein the game apparatus is anelement of another game apparatus selected from the group consisting of:a lottery game; a retail store promotional game; a web site promotionalgame; and a web-based store promotional game.
 10. A method for playing agame comprising the steps of: defining a combined prize comprising aminimum prize and an additional prize; providing a game piece comprisingat least one game indicia; and determining the combined prize from theindicia.
 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising: the game indiciabeing printed on the game piece; the game indicia identifying thecombined prize; the game indicia being hidden by a removable material;and the step of determining the combined prize further comprisingremoving the removable material to reveal the game indicia and thecombined prize.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the game piecefurther comprises a separable portion of the game piece identifying theminimum prize.
 13. The method of claim 11 further comprising: the gameindicia comprising a first set of at least one game indicia and a secondset of at least one game indicia; the first set of game indicia beingassociated with the combined prize; the second set of game indicia beingassociated with the first set of game indicia; the first and second setof game indicia being hidden by the removable material; and the step ofdetermining the combined prize further comprises removing the removablematerial to expose the first and second set of game indicia whereby acomparison of the second set of game indicia to the first set of gameindicia reveals the combined prize.
 14. The method of claim 11 whereinthe method is an element of another game selected from the groupconsisting of: a lottery game; a retail store promotional game; a website promotional game; and a web-based store promotional game.
 15. Themethod of claim 10 wherein the step of determining the combined prizefurther comprises: a processor configured to receive signalsrepresenting the game indicia; the processor configured to communicatewith a memory having logic to determine the combined prize value fromthe game indicia; and the processor configured to identify the combinedprize to the user.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the memory havinglogic to determine the prize value communicates with the processor overa data network.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein the game piece is acomputer based client.
 18. The method of claim 15 wherein the method isan element of another game selected from the group consisting of: alottery game; a retail store promotional game; a web site promotionalgame; and a web-based store promotional game.
 19. A game apparatuscomprising: a game piece having at least one game indicia printed on thegame piece; the game indicia identifying a combined prize; the combinedprize comprising a minimum prize and an additional prize; a separableportion of the game piece identifying the minimum prize; the gameindicia being hidden by a removable material whereby removing theremovable material reveals the game indicia and the combined prize; andwherein the game is an element of another game selected from the groupconsisting of: a lottery game; and a retail store promotional game; aweb site promotional game; and a web-based store promotional game.